Technically, Boston's Nine Zero Hotel wasn't used as a set for the new Steve Carrell movie Get Smart, but the hotel has put together a wicked package for the fumbling spy enthusiast in all of us.
Making good use of the tech-laden penthouse suite, Cloud Nine where an iris check is essentially your room key, the Get Smart Weekend Package includes:
· Two nights of luxury in Nine Zero's Cloud Nine 19th floor penthouse suite featuring 1,200 square feet of luxury and comfort · Two tickets to Get Smart starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway ·
Two Spy Kits
Before we get on to the price of this package, we had to inquire--what is included in the Spy Kits? However, our efforts at cracking the code were confounded. Apparently, the Spy Kits are top-secret and are for hotel guests only to find out.
As for the price, well you might have to have Steve Carrell's paycheck for such a whimsical weekend. Total cost is $3,999.
The Get Smart Weekend package is available from now through September 30. Call (866) 906-9090 and use code PSMT to book.
Every music festival we've ever been to has had an army of porta-potties imported for the occassion, shining like blue-green beacons in the sunlight just beyond the stage. We're always grateful for them, since our activities during such events go no further than eating, drinking, peeing, sleeping, and repeating.
We can score goodies to eat and drink at the festival, the porta-potties have us covered on the peeing part -- but the sleeping part? Well, now that we've grown older than 18 and have left behind the age in which it was acceptable and even preferable to pitch a tent with our buddies and crash for the night, we're gonna need a hotel.
Enter French company Abilmo, whose "pop-up" hotel room was conceived precisely for this situation.
Hey there, insensitive environment-destroying hotel guest: ever stop to consider how many trees have been sacrificed for all those paper hotel room conveniences you take for granted?
You know, things like your room service menu, the phone book and the newspaper that seems to appear outside your door magically every morning even if you wake up at the ungodliest of hours?
Well, Fontainebleau Resort considered it and has announced the introduction of the first 'paperless hotel room.' The details:
Simple and intuitive options for booking and pre-planning will be offered online at Fontainebleau.com, interactive programming will be available throughout the resort, and the highlight of the program - a personal iMac in every guest room assisting guests in customizing their vacation; inspiring them to share memories; encouraging personal expression and creating immediate actionable guest feedback.
The future of dating is looking bleak. First there was the explosion of online dating (which cannot be stopped) -- and now flirting via computer while you're in the same bar is a reality. We can thank Bill Gates.
After the Microsoft Surface computer debuted at the Sheraton NYC this fall, the technology made its way out west and into in an "iBar" in the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Six of these $10,000 (!) machines are in the bar, essentially turning tabletops into touchscreen controlled computers with Harrah's custom software:
A "Flirt" feature in the Surface computers lets people exchange original messages or choose from suggested come-on lines. Patrons can create drink recipes and then have the cocktails delivered to themselves or others. People can use the computers to play games, watch online videos, or take a virtual stroll along the renowned Las Vegas strip without leaving their seat at the "iBar," according to Harrah's.
Slow down here. We're just getting used to the idea of booty call text messages -- we're not sure what we'd do if a stranger sent us a pickup line via computer from 15 feet away.
The ghetto 4-button alarm clock with the red visible-from-space LCD display is on the way out, and the iPod-compatible iHome has taken its place on hotel nightstands everywhere.
So far, we've woken up next to these babies in both big-box hotel chains and boutique hotels alike. In fact, we even awarded it our Must-Have Hotel Amenity Award for 2007.
While it's great to be able to wake up to our iPods, frankly, the damn thing has a whole hell of a lot of buttons. Don't get us wrong -- we are young, tech-savvy folks and all -- but even we had to say a little prayer that the shiny little beast would function as planned the first few times we used it.
Thus, after many close encounters with hotel iHomes and a comfortably intimate relationship with the consumer version (they're a smidge different), we present to you: How to Successfully Set the Hotel Room's #%$@ing iHome Alarm Clock.
Much like the Hard Rock Hotel has a Vibe Manager, the Hotel Sax in Chicago has Studio Hosts to man their sixth floor Studio (see video) which is powered by XBox and features hit games from Guitar Hero to Rockband to Madden 08' and Dance, Dance Revolution. All of the above is why the hotel topped our Best Geek Hotels 2.0 list back in February.
So what's it like in the life of a Studio Host here. From the Chicago Tribune:
And the hotel has trained staff attendants, now called studio hosts, to help guests with all the cool toys.
Mostly, people just need help swapping out the games, says studio host Bill Gill, 26.
"I show them how to play the guitar … make sure people don't stay an hour on a machine when people are waiting," Gill says.
Um...hello, we totally need to apply for this job because it's like the easiest job ever. Then again, we're not so sure we'd be good at comforting the older business traveler who attempts the Rockband drum kit and totally blows. The drummer is the beat of the band, man!
JDV Hospitality has opened a new hotel in the technology capital of the U.S.--Silicon Valley. And as an ode to the tech culture, the hotel's name is Domain Hotel. And the restaurant on-site is called Bytes Restaurant and Lounge.
As with all JDV properties, there's free wireless throughout the hotel but interesting the hotel's guestrooms don't really cater to the go-go-go mentality of the tech world.
The 136 guestrooms and suites are decorated in two themes: Tranquility and Awakening, which can be customized to each guest’s individual preference and mood. Guestrooms feature flat-panel televisions, iPod docking stations, and simple, honest office workspaces that you can sleep in.
The tranquility rooms have a serene blue color scheme and are scented with lavendar. Get the tranquility executive suite which has a jacuzzi bathtub. The awakening rooms have a green "forest" design and a lemongrass scent designed to invigorate you. Again, get the executive suite with the jacuzzi.
There's also a fitness center and outdoor heated pool on site. Rates start at $219 a night during the week and at $119 on the weekends.
Tonight's the opening party for the Domain Hotel which shows you just how new this place is. But JDV already has a presence in Silicon Valley with the Wild Palms Hotel and the Google Hotel aka Hotel Avante.
So the Le Parker Meridien in New York is not the only place where you can get your Wii Workout on these days. It seems as if a lot of hotels are paying attention to the family-friendly gaming trend that's out there now.
Hotels Magazine has a list of the next batch of hotels to get all geeky on us. They are:
· Westin Hotels: Is in "groundbreaking" talks with Nintendo to offer customized Wii consoles in its more than 150 hotels and resorts. We wonder, will the Wii pump out a white green tea scent as well?
· The Conrad Chicago: The hotel will start offering competitive Wii Meeting Breaks in May. Virtual rockers can rock out on a mock stage set up with fog and flashing lights.
· The Phoenician: This Scottsdale resort has a brand-new Family Activity Center that features a 60-inch plasma TV with a Wii system.
· Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort: The Florida resort has gone all Xbox 360 offering Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero in its game room. The resort has all been allowing teens to play the games on the beach with a 10-foot-screen.
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by juliana
